1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fluid dispensing apparatus, and more particularly, to means for selectively dispensing one of a plurality of fluids housed in separate containers by means of a single dispenser head.
2. Prior Art
There are several types of inexpensive liquid dispensing apparatus presently on the market which incorporate a manually operated reciprocating pump mechanism for the transport of fluid. The dispenser usually includes a screw-on closure to releasably engage a container so that the dispenser may be removed from the container for the purpose of refilling the container. Such dispensers may have a trigger, a plunger or other protruding element which is intended to be moved manually to operate a pump piston in the dispenser, usually against the force of a return spring, so that liquid may be pumped from the container and dispensed through the liquid ejection nozzle or outlet of the device.
Tada, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,478 issued Oct. 31, 1972, describes one such hand-held dispenser useful for spraying a fluid. Tyler, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,061,202 describes yet another hand-held spraying head for delivering a fluid from a vessel. Malone, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,650,473, also describes a fluid dispensing head. Corsette, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,618,077, issued Oct. 21, 1986, describes yet another such dispensing head. The foregoing patents describe various hand operated pumps which are well known in the literature and are incorporated herein by reference thereto. They are all hand operated pumps for dispensing fluids from a container. They all include a body containing a pumping chamber having an inlet and an outlet. Such pumps normally have a fluid uptake tube that extends downward from it and into a reservoir containing a fluid to be dispersed, and a screw closure that removably affixes the fluid uptake tube and the dispensing head to the reservoir.
A disadvantage of prior art dispensers is that they are each capable of dispensing only a single fluid. This often limits their usefulness or requires that several dispensers be kept on hand . . . one for each fluid. Or that fluid reservoirs be manually changed when needed. It is therefore the primary object of this invention to provide an adapter for a fluid- dispensing, hand-operated pump, which adapter provides means for the selective dispensation of one of a plurality of fluids housed in their respective reservoirs from a single pump head or dispenser.
Another object of the invention is to provide an adapter for selectively dispensing fluids from a plurality of reservoirs wherein the dead volume holding a fluid within the pump is minimized.
The manner in which the foregoing objects are achieved will be more apparent from the following description, the appended claims and the figures of the attached drawings.